Lasting machine



Oct. 22, 1946. ,4 c. A. ROBlNSON LASTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Original Filed Dec. 20, 1944 Inventor CharlesAJEobinson h is Afrorn e51Oct, 22, 1946. c. A. ROBINSON 2,409,642

LASTING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 20, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Charles AFobinson Patented Oct. 22, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LASTINGMACHINE Charles A. Robinson, Salem, Mass., assignor to United ShoeMachinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of'New JerseyOriginal application December 20, 1944, Serial No. 568,964. Divided andthis application August 10, 1945, Serial No. 610,111

Claims. (01. 12-14) toe-lasting machine constructed in many respects asdisclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,160,846, granted on June6, 1939, on an application of F. C. Eastmans and A. F, Pyms. In commonwith that prior disclosure the machine is provided with wipers which inthe course of a cycle of power operations of the machine are movedheightwise of the last to perform what is commonly known as an upwipingoperation on the toe end of the upper and in automatically determinedtime relation to that movement are advanced lengthwise of the last andare closed inwardly widthwise of thelast into positions to render themthus effective on the upper, such closing action on the wipersterminating after the beginning of their movement heightwise of thelast. An object of the presentinvention is to provide improved means foroperating the wipers, and especially to render more uniform theiroperations on shoes of difierent styles. While the invention is hereinillustrated as embodied in a modification of the wiper-operating meansshown in the above-mentioned Letters Patent, it is to be understood thatit is not thus limited in its applicability. i 1

With the above-stated general object in view, the invention providesmeans for varying, as may be desirable for shoes of difierentstyles, thetime in the operation of the machine whenthe closing action on thewipers to bring them into positions for the upwiping operation isterminated. The construction shown includes a cam and connectionsleading therefrom to the wipers for partially closing them, and anothercam which by relative movement of parts of those connections supplementsthe wiper-closing action of the first,

in the upwiping operation with danger of applying excessive pressure tothe upper.

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference tothe accompanying drawings and thereafter pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in right-hand side elevation of a portion of themachine in which the invention is shown as embodied;

Fig, 2 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the wipers and of partsclosely associated therewith; and r Fig. 3 is a view partly inright-hand side elevation and partly in section, also on an enlargedscale, showing portions of the wiper-operating means. 7 i

As more fully disclosed in the above-mentioned copending application,the machine in which the invention is herein shown as embodied isprovided with a device 2 for positioning a welt shoe in proper relationto the toe-lasting means by engagement with the bottom face of the toeend of the insole and with the inner face of the lip of the insole atthe end and the sides of the toe upon presentation of the shoe to themachine, the position of a shoe thus determined being indicated bybroken lines in Fig. 3. Shortly after the starting of the cycle of poweroperations of the machine the shoe is clamped against theshoe-positioning device 2 by a toe rest 4 which is moved upwardly intoclamping position. As part of the lasting means the machine has a pairof wipers B which are advanced lengthwise of the last and are closedinwardly widthwise of the last to embrace the upper closely about thetoe end of the last and in automatically determined time relation totheir advancing and closing movements are swung upwardly to wipe theupper heightwise of the last, after which they-are further advanced andclosed to wipe the marginal portion. of the upper inwardly over thefeather and against the lip of the insole, the lip being supportedagainst the inward pressure of the wipers by the shoe-positioning device2. The wipers are secured to wiper holders 8 which are supported on awiper carrier Hi and are guided by the carrier for movements about anaxis extending heightwise of the shoe substantially at the end of thetoe to close the Wipers inwardly widthwise of the shoe. The wipercarrier is supported at its front end for movements to advance andretract the wipers lengthwise of the shoe on a pair of links I2 whichare spaced apart widthwise of the shoe and are pivotally connected attheir upper ends to the carrier. At its rear end the wiper carrier isfurther supported on the upper end of a lever 54 which is pivotallymounted between its upper and lower ends on a fulcrum rod [5. The upperarm of the lever M is pivotally connected by a rod I8 to the Wipercarrier and, in effect. serves as a link substantially parallel to'thelinks l2: The links F2 are pivotally connected at their lower ends toarms 25, only one of which is visible in the drawings, these armsbeingfast on a rockshaft 22 mounted in bearings in the frame of the machine.Also fast on the rockshaft 22 is an arm 24 provided with axrollfzfi.which lies in a cam track 28'2f'ormed in one'sideof a cam member (notshown) fasto'n a cam shaft 36. Only a fragment of this. cam trackis.herein shown by dotted lines, but it corresponds: to the cam track I98of the above-mentioned Let:-

ters Patent No. 2,160,846. Through this mechanism the wiper carrier ii)is swung upwardly about the rod it to cause the wipers to wipe the upperheightwise of the last and is later operated to increase the downwardpressure of the wipers on the marginal portion of the upper over theinsole. To advance and retract the wiper carrier and the wiperslengthwise of the shoe, the lever I4 is swung about the rod l6 by a camtrack 32 formed in one side of a gear wheel 3 on the cam shaft 33, thelever carrying a roll 35 which lies in the cam track; It will beunderstood that' when the wiper carrier is thus operated the links [2swing idly about their pivotal connections with the arms 29. Throughspring means not herein shown but fully disclosed in Letters Patent No.2,160,846 provision is afforded for yield to" prevent damage to the shoeor to the machine when the upstanding margin of the upper is pressedagainst the lip of the insole by the action of the lever M on the wipercarrier.

The wiper holders 8 are operated to close the wipers inwardly widthwiseof the shoe through links 38 (Figs. 2 and 3) connected respectively tothe different holders and both operated by a slide 20 mounted formovements lengthwise of the shoe on the wiper carrier I9. Associatedwith these links are comparatively light springs 42 through which thewipers are pressed yieldingly against the sides of the toe in the wipingof the upper heightwise of the last. As disclosed in Letters Patent No.2,160,846, the yield'of these springs is limited to render the slide it]positive in its action on the wiper holders 8 when the upper isthereafter pressed inwardly by the wipers against the lip of the insole.Through spring mechanism 44, the construction of which need not beherein described in detail in view of the disclosure in theabove-mentioned Letters Patent, the slide G9 is operated to close thewipers by a bell-crank lever t6 mounted to swing about a shaft itsupported by the wiper carrier i5), this be1l-crank lever beingconnected by a pair of links- Bil, only one of which is herein shown, tothe spring mechanism. This spring mechanism is yieldable to preventdamage to the shoe or to the machine when the upper is pressed againstthe lip of the insole by the closing of the wipers. The bell-crank lever4-5 is operated by a cam track 52 formed in one side of the gear wheel34 and acting on a roll 54 carried by an arm 55 which is fast on aroc'kshaft 58 on the frame. Also fast on this rockshaft is an arm 6%connected to the bell-crank lever 45 by means presently to be described,so that when swinging movement in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 3)is imparted to the arm 56. corresponding movement is imparted to thebell-crank lever 4G to close the wipers in time relation to theiradvancing movement lengthwise of the shoe and when reverse movement isimparted to the arm 5'6 the wipers are opened. By the portion a of thecam track'52 closing. movements are imparted to the wipers preparatoryto the wiping of the upper heightwise of the last, and by the portion 1)of. the cam track they are thereafter further closed-to wipe themarginal portion of the upper inwardly over the insole, these movementsbeing accompanied by: corresponding bodily advancing movements of thewipers lengthwise of the shoe. The receding portion 0 of the cam tracklater serves-partially to openthe wipers simultaneouslywithpartial'retractive movements thereof lengthwise of the shoe; thedownward pressure of the wipers on the upper having been somewhatrelieved at that time by the action of the cam track 28 on the Wipercarrier Iii. Thereafter the portion (1' of the cam. track 52' againcloses the wipers simultaneously with a second advance thereoflengthwise of the shoe, in' time relation to which movements they areagain moved down wardly to increase their pressure on the upper, all inaccordance generally with the disclosure of the above-mentionedLettersPatent.

It will be evident that if'the closing movements of the wipers tobringtheir edges into positions for wiping the upper heightwise of thelast take place, as heretofore, in an invariable time relation to theirupwipingmovements, the positions of the edges of the wipers when theyfirst become effective on the upper may depend upon the style of theshoe. That is, in operating, for example, on a shoe having acomparatively high toe the wipers may not be closed inwardly toanysubstantial extent beyond the widest portion of the toe, whileinoperating on ashoe having a comparatively low or receding toe theymaybe closed more or less inwardly under the sides of the toe beforethey become effective on the upper. In th latter case the wipers arethereafter necessarily forced somewhat apart against the resistance ofthe springs 42 by thewedging action of the shoe thereon as theyare-moved farther upwardly. To avoid any possible danger of excessivepressure of the edges of the wipers on the upper under those conditions,the construction herein shown is such that the time whentheclosingaction on the wipers to bring them into'positions for wipingthe upperheightwise of the last is terminatedmay be varied. To this end, theclosing of the wipers to those positions'is effected, not alone by thecam track 52, but by additional means which supplementsthe action ofthis cam track and the time of operation of which is adjustablyvariable. As shown in Fig. 3, the means connecting the wiper-closingbell-crank lever 4.6 to the arm 8-) which operates it comprises a pairof toggle links 62 and E i pivotally connected respectively to thebell-crank lever and to the arm and connected together by a pin 66. Thispin is connected by a link 68 to an arm H3 which is fast on thepreviously mentioned shaft 38 on which the bellcrank lever 46 is looselymounted, and also fast on this shaft is an arm 12 (Fig. 1) connected bya link M to the upper end of an arm 76 which is pivotally mounted at itslower end on a bracket '18 on the frame. Mounted 0n the arm 16 is a rollBE arranged to be engaged by the periphery of a cam 82 which is securedon one side of another cam 84 with which the machine is provided, thiscam being fast on the cam shaft 30. The cam 82 is thus adjustablysecured to the cam 84 by screws 86 extending through slots 88 in the cam82. A spring 90 connected to the arm 16 tends to swing the arm towardthe left, as the parts are viewed in Fig. 1, and thereby tends to turnthe shaft 48 in a clockwise direction, the roll at being initiallyspaced somewhat from the cam 82. A screw 92 (Fig. 3) which is threadedin an upwardly extending lug on the upper end of the link 64 and engagesa lug on the side of the link *62 limits the turning of the shaft 48under the i influence of the spring 90 and adjustably determines thenormal positions of the toggle links 62, 64 with the toggle brokentoward the left as the parts are viewed in Fig. 3. In these positionsthe links provide an operating connection between the arm 60 and thebell-crank lever 46. At a time in the cycle of operations which may bevaried by adjustment of the cam 82 about the axis of the camshaft 30 inthe manner permitted by its screw-and-slot connection with the cam 84 arise 94 on the cam 82 engages the roll 8!] and through the mechanismdescribed straightens the toggle 62, 64, thereby imparting furtherclosing movements to the wipers supplementary to the closing movementseffected by the portion a of the cam track 52. In this manner the wipersare closed to positions for the effective wiping of the upper heightwiseof the last. It will be understood that in operating on shoes havingcomparatively high toes the cam 82 will be so adjusted as to advance thetime of the straightening of the toggle, and that in operating on shoeshaving comparatively low or recedin toes the cam will be adjusted todelay the straightening of the toggle relatively to the movement of thewipers heightwise of the last, so that the wipers will not be closedinwardly under the sides of the toe in such manner as to cause themthereafter to be wedged apart to any substantial extent by the action ofthe shoe thereon. It will further be understood that adjustment of thescrew 92 will serve to vary the initial positions of the wiperswidthwise of the shoe and correspondingly to vary the amount of movementimparted to the wipers by the cam 82 by varying the position of the roll80 relatively to the cam.

Since the manner of operation of the construction provided by theinvention has been fully exlained above, no further explanation thereofis necessary.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a lasting machine, wipers for engaging an upper about the toe endof a last, poweroperated means for effecting relative movement of saidwipers and the last to cause the wipers to wipe the upper heightwise ofthe last, and means for closing the wipers inwardly widthwise of thelast in predetermined time relation to said relative movement to bringthem into positions thus to act on the upper, said wiper-closing meansbeing adjustable to terminate such closing action on the wipers at avariably predetermined time with respect to said relative movement.

2. In a lasting machine, wipers for engaging an upper about the toe endof a last, poweroperated means for effecting relative movement of saidwipers and the last to cause the wipers to wipe the upper heightwise ofthe last, and means for closing the wipers inwardly widthwise of thelast in predetermined time relation to said relative movement to bringthem into positions thus to act on the upper, said wiper-closing meansincluding a cam adjustable to terminate its closing action on the wipersat a variably predetermined time with respect to said relative movement.

3. In a lasting machine, wipers for engaging an upper about the toe endof a last, poweroperated means for effecting relative movement of saidwipers and the last to cause the wipers to wipe the upper heightwise ofthe last, means for closing the wipers inwardly widthwise of the last inpredetermined time relation to said relative movement to bring them intopositions thus to act on.the upper, said wiper-closing means including acam for partially closing the wipers and another cam for further closingthem, said other cam being adjustable to terminate its closing action onthe wipers at a variably predetermined time with respect to saidrelative movement.

4. In a lasting machine, wipers for engaging an upper about the toe endof a last, poweroperated means for effecting relative movement of saidwipers and the last to cause thewipers to wipe the upper heightwise ofthe last, a cam and connections leading therefrom to the wipers forclosing them inwardly widthwise of the last toward positions for thusoperating on the upper, and another cam for supplementing thewiper-closing action of said first-named cam by relative movement ofparts of said connections, said other cam being adjustable to vary thetime of its action on the wipers.

5. In a lasting machine, wipers for engaging an upper about the toe endof a last, poweroperated means for effecting relative movement of saidwipers and the last to cause the wipers to wipe the upper heightwise ofthe last, a cam and connections leading therefrom to the wipers forclosing them inwardly widthwise of the last toward positions for thusoperating on the upper, said connections including a toggle bodilymovable thus to act on the wipers, and another cam associated with saidtoggle for flexing it and for thereby supplementing the wiper-closingaction of said first-named cam, said other cam being adjustable to varythe time of its action on the wipers.

CHARLES A. ROBINSON.

